CLEVELAND — Surgery is currently not scheduled for Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who missed Sunday’s 20-3 win over the Cleveland Browns with a hip injury.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa suffered an injury against the Houston Texans in Week 15 and was able to overcome it against San Francisco last week. However, he aggravated the injury during a play against the 49ers and it did not progress as the team had hoped last week.
Tagovailoa was limited in Miami’s two practices before Sunday’s game, and he was downgraded to questionable on Saturday.
“You try to predict how things are going to heal based on the one thing you have to work with, which is the previous week’s forecast,” McDaniel said. “So we were hoping and expecting a schedule similar to that, and as the week went on, we didn’t see the improvement that we had hoped for. … Ultimately, he definitely wanted to play It wasn’t a question of tolerance; it wasn’t in the equation for him.
“…The bottom line was that not only was he extremely vulnerable to a much greater injury based on this injury, should he fall into harm’s way, but a major factor was the lack of strength due to the injury and his inability, as we expect, to protect himself and his teammates in the pocket by doing the things he normally has to do.
After playing in all 18 games in 2023, Tagovailoa has now missed a career-high five regular season games this year. McDaniel said that while surgery is not deemed necessary at this time, he has “no idea” if Tagovailoa will play in next weekend’s regular-season finale against the New York Jets.
The Dolphins coach confirmed that Tagovailoa’s hip injury was not related to the compound fracture he suffered during his final season at Alabama in 2019.
Tagovailoa told reporters Thursday that his hip injury feels “good,” and he described the issue as typical wear and tear at this point in the season. Defensive lineman Calais Campbell said the quarterback told him Thursday the team should “take me out of the game” and that he planned to play the Browns.
Campbell, however, said he could tell from Tagovailoa’s reps at Friday’s practice that the quarterback was unlikely to play.
Backup Tyler Huntley started against the Browns and completed 22 of 26 passes for 225 yards and a touchdown while rushing for another 53 yards and a touchdown.
In his fourth start of the season, Huntley said he’s more comfortable in this offense now that he’s been there for three months.
“I actually know what the moves are and I have a good feel for the plays right now,” Huntley said. “So, yeah, a couple weeks on offense, it definitely makes a difference.”
The Dolphins returned to a .500 record for the first time since Week 2. They can clinch a third straight playoff berth next week with a win over the Jets and a Denver Broncos loss to the Kansas Chiefs City, who have clinched first place in the AFC and are likely to rest their starters.
Campbell, a Colorado native, joked that he would be a “big Chiefs fan” for the first time in his life. He said the Dolphins could win games because of the way Huntley played Sunday.
“It’s never over until it’s over,” Campbell said. “There’s always an opportunity and who knows – I mean, it might not happen. That’s part of it. But we’ve got to get there pretty much and if it happens, watch out.
“We’re coming.”
